Revolution
by Undead Gamer
Summary: The fall of Manhattan Island to the Shredder, and what comes after. Classic TMNT AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer **

Turtles and all related characters do not belong to me and are used here without permission. They belong to Peter Laird and the fine folks at Mirage Studios. Artisan and Fred Wolf own the 1987 TV version of the turtles, which this draws inspiration from.

**Disclaimer Pt 2 **

This is an AU but in no way includes High Schools, Vampires or Female Turtles, not even Venus de Milo.

_Revolution: Prelude and Chapter One - In which an understanding is reached, April reports a theory and Oroku Saki expects uninvited guests. _

--

**Prelude **

The room was dark and silent. A single candle lit two kneeling figures that were facing each other, not saying anything. They didn't need to; communication had long ago gone beyond words and to simple understanding.

It was time.

A third figure entered the circle of light. It was as silent as the pair kneeling, masking its presence carefully. Not a whisper of air betrayed its presence. Slowly and carefully it lowered a Groucho mask onto the face of one of the kneeling figures. Between the two figures the silent understanding continued.

It was time for Mikey to leave the lair.

--

**Chapter One**

April O'Neil, hotshot reporter for Channel Six News, pulled her hand away from adjusting her hair, straightened and looked directly at the camera. Behind her, police tape cordoned off a large building and harried looking officers scurried back and forth, trying to ignore the growing number of press arriving at the scene.

A camera man and a technician had staked their plot and in the Channel Six news van sat Vernon, possibly the most rat-like man she had ever met. He was looking at the screens that lined one wall of the van, assessing the shots and giving instructions through a headset to the camera man. As always Vernon looked slightly panicked, like he wanted to be somewhere else. As far as April could tell, he seemed to live in a permanent cloud of stress. He waved his hand at her to make sure that he had her attention then held up three fingers, two fingers, one...

"Hello, this is April O'Neil of Channel Six News, reporting to you live from the Eglestone Research Institute. This scientific research centre was the scene earlier today of yet another laboratory robbery. Two security guards and four staff members were found unconscious at the scene, apparently due to some sort of toxin. The staff members are said to be in a stable condition.

"This is the fourth robbery of equipment from a scientific research facility in as many days." Out of the corner of her eye, April caught Vernon waving his hands at her, and she shifted her eyes to the side to see the technician gesturing for a short, nervous-looking man to approach. As he came over, the technician thrust a lab coat into his hands which the man hastily put on.

"To shed some light on what has been stolen and why," April continued, turning her full attention back to the camera, "We have noted physicist Doctor Heinrich Kleinman. Doctor Kleinman, what has been stolen so far?"

Kleinman glanced nervously at the camera, and then looked back at April. "Uhh, two positronic accelerators, four reverse flux polarity indicators and one parabolic sinewave generator."

April smiled and nodded her head, trying to make it look like she understood what he was talking about. "And what is it that these things do, Doctor?"

Kleinman looked stumped for a minute, and then gave the only reply he could, knowing his reputation was already shattered. "I have no idea."

Vernon groaned and spoke quickly into his headset, getting the cameraman to refocus on April while the technician rushed the doctor off the scene. April smiled at the camera and snapped her eyes onto the auto-cue.

"A statement from the directors of three of the laboratories which have been targeted seeks to reassure the public that, while a great loss to the scientific community, the equipment taken cannot be used in the manufacture of weapons or explosives, either conventional, nuclear or biological. They have also expressed their confusion at the purpose behind these thefts. The equipment is highly specialized, and while expensive, not something that can easily be sold. Many pieces of equipment, just as valuable but much easier to sell, have been ignored.

"Police remain baffled. The only clues to the crime are small punctures on the guards and staff members found unconscious on the scene. Due to the lack of a struggle it is believed that the victims were surprised and sedated. Information obtained by this station has suggested that a rare Japanese drug was used in the assault. Experts we spoke to earlier today have said that the methods used are reminiscent of the legendary 'ninja' of Japanese folklore." She ignored Vernon's desperately waving hands indicating for her to cut.

"The authorities have so far treated this suggestion as ludicrous, but have yet to present any alternative theories. This is April O'Neil coming to you live for Channel Six News." She stood there for a moment longer until Vernon gave her an angry cut signal.

Vernon slammed his hand onto the control to cut the feed, and then stormed out of the van. "And just what do you call that?" he asked.

April unclipped the microphone and handed it to the technician. "Putting some life into a dead story. Come on,Vernon – 'positronic wave agitators'? The viewers don't know what one is, and as long as it can't blow up Manhattan Island or make nuclear bombs, they don't care. Police are baffled? The only thing this story's got going for it are the fact that the staff are being knocked out by little darts. Anyway," she added thoughtfully, "It _could _be ninjas."

Vernon snorted. "Yeah, if I remember correctly that theory came from some guy that was hanging around Irma. And the only reason he came up with that is because he liked to watch cartoons. Now, we've got two hours before we cover the Trans-Continental Research and Investigation reception. Oroku Saki and TCRI have been making a lot of the right friends, so could you _try_ not to ruffle any feathers?"

April smiled at him. "Me? Why would I do anything like that?"

--

Two hours later, April O'Neil was standing uncomfortably on the roof of the newly constructed TCRI building. Around her, important people mingled and talked, but mostly not to her; she had a bad habit of repeating things she was told as part of a story. Rocks, plants and sand had been laid out to give the suggestion of a traditional Japanese garden. There was even a bamboo thingy going 'doink' in one corner. She made a note to get one of the Channel Six researchers to let her know what it was called for the report.

She felt uncomfortable in the dress that her boss had insisted that she wear. She was sure that the taxi driver who had driven her here had been leering at her in the rear view mirror, and to top it off she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong about Saki as he drifted from person to person, smiling and chatting away. The smile never seemed to get beyond his mouth, and it certainly never touched his eyes.

This, combined with what she had been hearing from some of her sources, was making her very nervous. They were reporting some unsavoury rumours about his operations in Japan. She could believe them, looking at him here. Oroku Saki was definitely one of those people that managed to look predatory, no matter what he was doing.

Six months ago, he'd arrived in New York, a foreign business man with money, power and influence but almost no past to speak of. Some information could be found about him from his time in Japan, but not much - and certainly not where the money was coming from. So far, no one had asked too many hard questions, as he was giving the money and support to all the right people.

He had invested particularly heavily in scientific circles and was funding a number of research projects in the theoretical physics and medical fields. He also had a number of known philanthropic projects, housing and services for the homeless, a keen interest in immigration and human rights operations.

She knew that she should like him. He did all the right things, helped the right people and supported the right charities. The sources of these reports were all without evidence to back them up or unwilling to speak on the record, but her reporter's instincts told her to listen to those quiet whispers, rather than the image the man walking towards her projected.

She focused her thoughts and brought her reporter's smile to her face as he held out his hand to her. He wasn't the only one who knew how to smile for an audience.

"Ah, Miss O'Neil. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I watched with some interest your report on the research institute thefts. Some interesting... theories," he said, voice as smooth, charming and empty as his smile.

April groaned inwardly. Expressing the ninja theory live on air probably hadn't been the best career move. She broadened her smile and tried to shift the topic. "Are you worried about the thefts? I understand you are constructing quite a large laboratory here in this building."

Oroku Saki shook his head. "Not at all. I am confident that I will be able avoid any such trouble, Miss O'Neil. I have great faith in my security systems to keep any... unwanted guests away."

April studied him closely as he said this. Something about his tone didn't seem quite right. He sounded vaguely amused and there was a slight pause before he said unwanted. It almost seemed that he was expecting something.

"And what is this facility _for,_ exactly?" she asked, to cover any indication that she had noted the pause. "The press release says something about launching a vaccination program from here, but that we would get more details at the press conference."

"And indeed, you shall. At the press conference which is due to start in about half an hour. I assure you that you will get all the information you require then."

Oroku Saki smiled that fake smile and started to move away. April could tell that something in his attitude had changed. Before he had been interested in her, but just then she was sure that she had been dismissed, reclassified as unimportant.

--

At the same time that April was contemplating the best way to uncover the truth about Oroku Saki without getting fired, four figures were moving towards the building far, far below. The city of New York was built on a warren of sewers, subway tunnels and access shafts. There were very few places that could not be accessed through this underground network, and for those that knew the layout the tunnels provided quick and hidden paths to surprising places.

The four shadowed figures certainly knew the paths well; they had mapped out and practised this route time and again until they could walk it blind. They were standing at a wall almost directly below April's position, several floors below ground level. The wall seemed identical to all the others, but one of them tapped around a little. A second or two later, he had found what he was looking for. Sliding the camouflaged hatch out of the way, he revealed a keypad with a thin slot above it, looking something like an ATM.

Reaching into a bag, he pulled out a small, card-like device. Wires ran from it back into the bag. He slotted it into the panel and stood back. Another second went passed and then a section of the wall slid back.

The four figures that slid into the TCRI building's sub-basement level did not notice the small hidden camera recording these events from the other side of the tunnel.

--

_Hello, what's this? _April thought to herself. A man in security uniform had moved over to Oroku Saki and was talking quietly to him. The man moved oddly, almost mechanically. Oroku Saki glanced at his guests, and then went inside with the guard. For the first time he was not smiling, and from his body language he seemed slightly angry.

A second or two after their host vanished inside, April followed. One of the party attendants looked up as she entered the corridor inside. "I'm afraid the press conference has been slightly delayed." The attendant told her. "If you could wait outside a little longer?"

"I'm sorry," April said. "I'm actually looking for the bathroom."

"Oh, then if you go down the hall slightly and to your right. Please do not go beyond the double doors at the end of the corridor. That area is off limits to guests and the press."

April smiled at the attendant. "Thank you for making me aware of that."

She walked quietly, listening. Oroku Saki had been agitated and in a hurry. Whatever the security guard had wanted was obviously urgent. She hoped that it was urgent enough that he had decided to use one of the nearby offices. She wasn't disappointed.

His voice with its perfect, textbook English could be heard coming from one of the rooms just a little further on. She glanced back at the attendant and was pleased to see a couple of drunken businessmen were occupying their attention. Not wasting the opportunity, she stopped at the office door just after the one Oroku Saki was occupying. She tried the handle and - finding it open - slipped inside. Quietly, she eased the door closed behind her and slid over to the adjoining wall. She pressed her ear near to the plaster divide and listened.

"...ot to send them to me, Krang. They could attract attention."

The voice that responded was strange, almost bubbly and high-pitched. "You also told me to make sure you knew when your special guests arrived."

"They're here?"

"Yes. They broke into the sub-basement a couple of minutes ago."

There was a pause before Oroku Saki responded. "That's a shame. I was hoping to meet them myself, but I can not avoid attending to my guests. Well, Krang, it seems that we will be able to give your creations a little test run and see if they are worth the investment."

"Oh, I think you will find that they are worth every penny spent on them," Krang said. Listening to the way he was talking, April got the impression they didn't like each other much. "I've already dispatched a couple to acquire the rather nosy reporter listening to us from the next office over."

April was already moving before he finished the sentence, running through various excuses she would use. The door opened before she got to it and two security guards stood there, much like the one that had gone to Oroku Saki in the garden. They move quickly to her in that odd, stiff motion that she had noticed before, and now she had a chance to look at their faces, they too seemed off. She searched for the right words even as they grabbed her. Lifeless, that was good; almost... _robotic._

--

_**Next Time **_

_The Shredder gives a press conference, a reporter meets a brain, Baxter Stockman is given credit and something goes 'klang'. _


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer

Turtles? Laird. Shredder? Laird. Miyako? Mine. Krang? Probbably Artisan and Fred Wolf.

Used without permission but with respect.

Still AU.

The author would like to assure the audience that Miyako's other name isn't Mary Sue.

--

_Chapter Two – Shredder holds a press conference, the turtles make a discovery and April finds a story._

"Where are you taking me?" April demanded of the two silent guards who held her lightly but firmly by the elbows. She was in a lift and had long passed the supposed lowest floor in the building.

The guards didn't answer, instead leading her out of the lift as the doors opened. She didn't struggle too hard; an attempt to kick one of them had lead to a very sore foot and a slight limp. _Oroku Saki must be paranoid to armor his guards like that,_ she thought.

Suddenly one of the guards stopped and let go of her arm to check out a nearby intersection, leaving her in the sole custody of the other guard. She thought briefly of trying to wrench her arm away and make a run for it, but the grip tightened slightly. _Anyway, where would I go?_ she wondered. It seemed unlikely she would be able to escape. There were cameras everywhere.

The first guard returned from his investigations and they resumed their march to destination unknown.

--

The four intruders from the sewer tunnels melted back out of the shadows as the security guards and their prisoner departed. Of the numerous things an observer would find strange, possibly the most striking was that they were four giant, humanoid turtles, each wearing a different-coloured eye mask and armed with an assortment of Japanese weapons.

"Woah, close one!" one of them whistled. The others shushed him.

"We'll have to be more careful. The guards seem more highly trained than I expected." This one, clearly the leader, looked back up the corridor as the figures retreated around a corner. "There's no way that they should have even suspected tha..."

"Did you see who was with them, Leo?" Leonardo turned and stared levelly at the speaker who had interrupted him. "Yeah, what was I thinking? Of course you did. It was that reporter chick, April O'Neil!"

"Great, Mikey. Now you can finally go ask her for a date!" the third turtle said. "She seems to have a thing about ninja. She came up with that dumbass ninja theory, didn't she?"

Michaelangelo looked hurt at this slight to his idol. "Yeah - but Raph, she was right!"

Raphael looked at Mikey contemptuously. "Still a dumbass theory."

"Guys, quiet!" Leonardo commanded. "Donny, which way?"

Donatello, the quietest of the group, looked thoughtful for a moment. "The server room should be this way." He gestured down one of the identical passages. Mikey looked crestfallen when the direction he gestured was in the opposite direction that April had been taken. "According to the building plans - the _real_ ones – there's a suitable room about five doors down."

Leo nodded, and then noticed Mikey still glancing down where the guards took April. He'd never understood the fixation his brother had for a human. "Mikey. Go after the reporter and find out where they're taking her and why. She might have information that's useful to us."

Mikey grinned. "Thanks, bro!" He took off down the corridor after the retreating figures, surprisingly quiet for the speed he was moving. A moment or two later he was gone.

The three remaining brothers watched him go. "What'd you do that for?" Raph asked when he was out of sight. "There's no telling what sort of trouble he'll get into."

Leo shook his head. "Mikey'll be careful. If he stayed here he'd just be distracted. There's a good chance she was snooping into something Saki doesn't want anyone to know about, if they've brought her down here. You know what Donny said; this level doesn't even _exist_ on the official planning records. Either Mikey will hear their interrogation and get the information, or - and we have to consider this likely - he'll attempt a rescue and we'll get to interrogate her ourselves."

"Yeah, and Mikey attempting a rescue is what I'm afraid of." Raph shook his head. "Whatever. Let's get this done with and get outta here. I don't like it. There was something really off about those guards."

--

The two guards pushed April into a room and then shut the door. The room was dark and it smelled _bad, _like a barnyard... or a zoo. She could hear hooting, rustling and quiet chittering echoing off the walls as she stumbled along the wall until her hand reached a light switch.

As light flooded the room, the noise rose to a cacophony. The room was huge. April stared at the rows of cages, each containing a different animal ranging from the commonplace to the exotic. Along one wall, tanks filled with water contained everything from goldfish to squid. Some of the cages were massive; one even had a gorilla. All the animals were agitated, pacing, banging, hooting and squawking. The cages shook, and April half-wondered if they would break out and she would be caught in a stampede.

After a second or two, curiosity overcame her shock, and she started to edge her way through the cages. "Hello?" she called. There was no answer save the hoots and growls of the various animals around her. _Get a grip! _she thought to herself. _I must be on to something big if they are locking me in a place like this. This story could be my big chance! …whatever it is…_

She straightened her shoulders and looked around, eventually spotting a camera set into one of the walls. "Alright, I know someone is watching me! You can't just hold me here! I'm a reporter for Channel Six news, and I demand someone tell me what is going on!"

There was a hiss, and she saw a section of the wall slide upwards. A smaller room was beyond, darker and bathed in dim red light.

"Well, April O'Neil, reporter for Channel Six news, I guess you'd better come in." The voice was the high-pitched, bubbling voice she had heard talking to Oroku Saki in the office. She couldn't help but think that it was laughing at her.

Cautiously she made her way over to the room, ducking in through the low opening. As she stepped inside, she found the sudden change in heat and humidity oppressive. _What do they use a room like this for?_ she wondered – and then tried not to think about the possibilities.

Any thoughts went out of her mind as her eyes adjusted and she got a good look at her host. Two wrinkly hemispherical lobes quivered around a pair of small eyes and a long thin mouth. A number of tentacles were folded underneath it. There was only one thing that April could really compare it to. _It... it... it's a giant brain!_

Then the heat, the stress and the shock caught up with her and she fainted.

Krang looked down at the sprawled figure on the ground and gave a bubbling chuckle. So very predictable, these humans.

--

A splash of water on her face woke her. She was sitting uncomfortably in an office chair and her shoulders were complaining. She tried to remember what she had been doing - something about a brain?

She tried to move her feet and stand up. When this didn't work she glanced down. _Oh_, she thought as she looked at the ropes binding her ankles. The ropes ran from her ankles to her wrists. Another set around her waist had her securely attached to the chair. _That would explain why my shoulders hurt. _

"Have you recovered yet, April O'Neil, reporter for Channel Six News?" Krang asked, wheeling into view. It really did look like a giant brain, perched on a sort of motorized stool. "Would you like to swoon again?" The thing made a clicking noise, sharp and staccato. _It's laughing!_ April realised.

"What - what are you?" she asked.

"Nothing that your pitiful human mind could comprehend!" the creature responded. "It is enough to know that I am a ruler of another dimension, cruelly exiled to earth by insubordinate ingrates that will soon be shown the error of their ways!" The explanation was punctuated by a series of gurgles and croaks, almost frog-like. "But enough about me. The press conference is starting. Would you like to see what you are missing out on?"

The creature wheeled over to a console and uncurled a tentacle from underneath itself. It pressed a button and the large screen mounted on the wall lit up. In the dim red light, April had a hard time making out the screen at first, but as her eyes got used to the image she could see her fellow attendees taking their seats in a large theater.

--

As the guests finished taking their seats, a young woman dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono approached a slightly raised podium. "_Konnichiwa, minna-san_. I would like to thank you all for your patience. Today is a very important day for the organization, so we have invited not just the press, but also some of our primary investors, so that they can see just where all of their finances have been going."

She smiled at them and stepped to one side. "But it is not me you have gathered to hear from, so please welcome to the stage our Lord and Master, conqueror of Manhattan Island - The Shredder."

Ignoring the confused babble behind her, she clenched her fist and brought it up to her chest, bowing sharply.

Oroku Saki - the Shredder - came in through the double-doored entrance, walking slowly down the centre aisle. He was dressed in armor, styled after a samurai warrior but with cruel blades attached to the shoulders, wrists and leg guards. Prongs extended out from his gauntlets. A thick deep red cape was draped down his back and slid down the stairs behind him. Under one arm was a helmet, also styled after the samurai tradition with two large horn pieces raising up the front.

Several audience members gave a nervous laugh. Most looked confused and a couple looked offended. The Shredder ignored all of them. He stopped behind the woman who had introduced him. She carefully unclasped his cape and folded it over her arms then took it behind another podium and placed it carefully on a small table. There were a number of buttons here and she pressed one, causing all the doors to close with an audible hiss-click.

The volume of the audience increased, a number of people standing up.

"What is going on, Saki?" A man in the audience demanded in a loud voice, stepping out into the aisle. "If this is a joke, then it isn't funny. I am a busy man and I don't have time for games!"

A kimono fluttered to the ground and there was a blur of black. It was his only warning before a knife was pressed to his throat, just hard enough to draw a tickle of blood. No one in the theatre save the Shredder had seen her move, but she was now standing behind the businessman, dressed in a black gi imprinted with a scarlet footprint, and a simple hakama.

"You dare speak to the Lord Shredder in such a manner?" The Japanese woman hissed, forcing him down on his knees. "Kneel and beg forgiveness. Your time is nothing and you are here at our Lord's pleasure." Around them people scrabbled to back away. Curses and yells along with screams filled the room.

"Enough, Miyako." The Shredder's voice cut through the commotion, demanding silence. "Let Mr Coleman back to his seat. We are not here to kill our most loyal backers."

At his command the woman stepped away, and then moved to stand behind to one side of the Shredder at the podium. Mr Coleman, holding his hand to his bleeding neck, retreated to a nearby seat.

"What is happening is quite simple, ladies and gentlemen," he said to the audience that now stared at him, wide-eyed and nervous. "As my loyal servant said, I am taking over Manhattan Island. Each of you here has been a valuable backer of my efforts, and I have brought you here to reward you by giving you the task of managing what is soon to be quite a large empire." He held up his hand as the commotion began. "Silence!" They quietened down again.

"Why should you do this? The answer is simple. While you have been dining, my agents have been taking your family members hostage." He clicked his fingers and the woman pressed another button. Curtains at one wall were pulled to the side. A row of gagged and blindfolded children stood there, tears rolling down the face of some, hands tied behind them. Two TCRI security guards stood at attention to either side of the line.

This time there was no silencing the commotion as members of the audience surged to their feet, yelling at the man in front of them. A number pulled out mobile phones only to find that they were receiving no signal; others threatened to sue and some starting to make their way to the stage.

The woman reached into her gi. A number of kunai whistled through the air. Those at the front of the surge fell to the ground, the blades cutting into their legs. There was more screaming, but the forward momentum stopped.

--

April stared in horror at the scene taking place on the screen. "What sort of sick joke is this?" she whispered. Krang just laughed his clicking laugh.

"Saki is the dramatic sort, isn't he?" Krang turned to face the reporter. "Quite simply, we need their money and their skill in keeping things organised. An island, even one as small as this "Manhattan" takes effort to control."

April looked at the brain. "You talk like you've already taken over the island. The police will stop you! Or the National Guard!"

"Oh, but April O'Neil, reporter for Channel Six news, this is only the beginning." He grinned at her. "Just wait until you see what is next!"

--

"So what's next?" Raph asked. For the last few minutes Donatello had been tapping away at a computer and he was getting bored.

"We wait," Leo responded. "Our mission here is to find out what Saki's plans are, nothing more. The data will be in the computers, so we get what we need and we get out." He looked around the room again, trying not to show that he was feeling as impatient as Raphael. Something wasn't right. He'd felt uneasy ever since they'd found their way inside. It all seemed too easy. What was it Raph often said? _Turtle luck should have kicked in by now._

"Uh, guys? Here's something I think you should see." The two turtles turned to Donatello, who pulled back from the screen and pointed.

"It's the view outside the door we came in. So what?" Raph asked.

"So why is it active? I shut down all the cameras before we came in. At least, I thought I did."

At these words, Leonardo felt the sinking feeling in his stomach increase. There it was...

"Our turtle luck," said Raph. "It's working true to form, isn't it?"

"I think it is," Don replied. "And look at this." He hit a few keys and the view changed.

"Yeah? More sewers," Raph said. But Leonardo had already seen what Don had seen; he narrowed his gaze.

"Raph, look here and here." Don tapped the screen. "Those are the marks from when Mikey crashed the sewer-slider into the wall." Raph's eyes started to widen. "And there's where you threw your sai at Mikey when he stole your pizza." He pressed more buttons, cycling through the camera views. "All of these are cameras set around our lair!"

Raphael swore under his breath. "So what, are you sayin' that Saki's been watching us? He knows we exist?" Don nodded. "So what do—"

Leo cut in. "We have to leave now. Saki knows we're here. He wanted us to find this. That's why it's been so easy." He reached up and touched a small ear-piece clipped to his mask. "Mikey. Mikey?" There was static in return. "Mikey!"

Don reached into his bag, pulled out a device and looked at the readings. "Jammed!"

"Leo!" Raph snapped. "We got company!"

They turned to look at the door in time to see five of the TCRI guards come into the room. Raph was already leaping towards one, sai in his hands.

Leo drew his swords. "Don, see if you can get in contact with Mikey. Raph and I will take care of the guards."

Raph struck one of the guards with the hilt of his sai. Instead of the fleshy thunk he was expecting the sai bounced back, vibrating.

"Klang? Did you say _klang_?"

The guard didn't respond and instead kicking out, forcing Raph to dodge backwards. "Leo, I think they're robots!"

Leonardo smiled. "Then we don't have to hold back."

He leapt across the room, knocking one aside and slashing at another. The twin blades of his katana cut through the guard with the shriek and sparks of tearing metal. He kicked away the two halves of the destroyed robot and turned to face the one he'd knocked away.

He came face to face with the barrel of a gun. The robot's hand had detached at the wrist and was hanging down loosely. The retort of automatic gun fire peppered the room as he dived over a table, kicking it end up and spilling computers across the floor. Donny slid beside him and a second later Raph came flying over the edge, ducking down as automatic gun fire caused computers to spark and monitors to explode around them.

"So what now, fearless leader?"

--

The scene at the press conference had calmed down. Uninjured attendees had helped their injured companions back into seats. The mood in the room had gone from chaotic panic to a sort of shocked submission. The Shredder surveyed the crowd with satisfaction but knew that at least a few of them would harbor an intention to resist him. Give them a few hours away from his supervision and they would plot and plan against him. He needed them cowed, and the hostages were not enough.

He turned to his aide. "If you would show Baxter Stockman in and move this platform to the viewing position?"

Miyako bowed and walked to the door. There was a clack and then they opened for her, closing quickly behind her. A second later they opened again and a short, shaking man with messy hair and a crumpled lab-coat entered the room. He glanced at the people staring at him and edged along the wall until he reached the Shredder.

The Shredder held out a hand to him. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Baxter Stockman. He is one of the most brilliant scientists in the world. Without him, a lot of what I am going to show you today would not have been possible."

Baxter's face twitched its way into a smile. "Th... thank you. Lord Sh... Sh... Shredder," he stuttered.

The Shredder turned to face him, ignoring the crowd. "Tell me Mr. Stockman, has the Mouser Protocol been engaged?"

"Yes, my Lord. They have been dispatched just as you asked."

The Shredder smiled. A guard wrapped his arms around Baxter, pinning his arms to his sides and lifting him off the ground. "Excellent. Then your usefulness is over."

He walked over to the small table that Miyako had left his cape on and picked up a small plastic bag and a syringe. The bag buzzed slightly and Baxter's eyes widened, and he started to struggle but the guard had held him fast.

"Mr. Stockman's most remarkable discovery, ladies and gentlemen," he said as he walked over to Baxter and pulled up his sleeve, "Was to take a special mutagenic compound my associate supplied me with." He placed the syringe against the exposed skin. "And separate it into two active compounds. Both are harmless..." He pushed the syringe in, injecting a fluorescent green substance into Stockman's arm, "…until combined. Compound A can be ingested, while Compound B must be delivered directly into the blood stream."

Baxter Stockman started to scream as the Shredder opened the bag. A number of flies flew out of it. "The result of combining these compounds in the body is quite remarkable."

One of the flies landed on Stockman's face and he stopped screaming. The guard let him drop to the ground where his legs failed to support him. He slumped and curled up into a small ball on the ground. Then he started to twitch, then thrash.

The Shredder stood over the thrashing scientist. "As you can see, the DNA of the affected organism goes through rapid shifts. Modern science really has no way of explaining the properties of this chemical. It truly is remarkable, the speed at which his features change. The shift in the eyes to the fly's multi-faceted lenses, the development of extra limbs and wings, all right here, right before your eyes. Would you not all agree that it is fascinating?"

The audience didn't respond. A number had fainted and several were throwing up. Others were just staring in numbed shock at the creature that had once been a human scientist called Baxter Stockman.

"Each of the hostages has been made to eat compound A. Should any of you show disloyalty or resist the instructions I give you, then they will be supplied with the partner compound and introduced to whatever creature suits my whim at the time. Cooperate and they will lead happy lives, educated in the finest tradition of my own clan."

To one side of the room there was a beep.

"Please take your time to absorb this. I know it has all been a lot to take in." The Shredder gestured at the two guards who led the hostages out of the room. As they were leaving, one of them scooped up the now unconscious Stockman. "I must prepare for the last part of the demonstration."

With that, he walked out. Not one of the people in attendance tried to stop him or even speak to him. The door closed behind him with a click. The people in the theatre didn't even notice when it started to shake slightly.

--

Slowly April turned away from the screen to look at the grinning face of her captor. "That... that... that's monstrous!" she said finally.

"Yes," the alien cackled. "Saki has a truly vicious creative streak to him. I can't stand the man, of course, but he makes an excellent partner to my own plans."

The alien wheeled around behind April and reached out with his tentacles. April flinched away but then felt her bonds loosen.

"I am sure, April O'Neil, that you are fully aware of the futility of resistance now?"

April stood slowly, painfully bringing her arms in front of her and rubbing some life back into her wrists. _Play along,_ she thought. _Something will come up, but right now the biggest story I've _ever_ had the chance to cover is right here! "_Y... yes Krang," she said.

Krang chuckled. "Wonderful, most wonderful. Defeated but not cowed. You are taking this remarkably well. I was sure that you were going to faint again when Saki transformed the human."

The chamber door slid open again to reveal the menagerie on the other side. To April's eyes, it was all the more horrific now that she had some idea of its purpose. Krang led the way out, still on his wheeled platform. Neither noticed a shadowy figure perched on top of one of the cages.

Mikey dropped to the ground and edged along behind them, keeping cages and animals between himself and the pair. Through the noise of the animals he couldn't quite make out what the weird, brain-like creature was telling April, but he could tell that she didn't like it.

"Hey guys!" he whispered into the microphone. "I don't know if you can hear me at all, but if you can you're not gonna believe this. I think Saki is working with aliens. I think they're trying to take over the world!"

_**Next Time**_

_April addresses the nation, the turtles fight and a man watches TV._


End file.
